Molecular detection of Rickettsia sp. cf. Rickettsia monacensis in Ixodes sp. cf. Ixodes affinis collected from white-tailed deer in Campeche, Mexico

Deer encompass a group of large-sized vertebrates that serve as hosts for a wide variety of ectoparasites, mainly ticks. In Mexico, ticks have relevance as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms, and 20 species of hard ticks are associated with four species of deer, although only a single study has been conducted to detect bacterial agents associated with ticks from deer in the country. In February, 2019 three white-tailed deers (Odocoileus virginianus) were hunted from the locality of China from the municipality of Campeche, Mexico. The sampled deers were parasitized by 26 ticks belonged to three species: Amblyomma mixtum (5 female, 1 male), Amblyomma ovale (2 female, 1 male), and Ixodes sp. cf. Ixodes affinis (15 female, 2 male). Specimens were screened individually for Anaplasma, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia DNA by the amplification of several fragments of 16S rRNA, gltA, 17-kDa, and flaB genes. This study report for the first time the presence of Rickettsia sp. cf. Rickettsia monacensis in Ixodes sp. cf. Ixodes affinis in Mexico.